Valentine Romantics
by shadow djinni
Summary: Two Mews plan Valentine's Day gifts. Unfortunately, not everything always goes as planned. Warning: canon pairings.


**A/N: Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! Fair warning, the pairings are canon-so, MasaIchi, one-sided Kishigo, one-sided Ryou/Lettuce and Pai/Lettuce. I actually like Masaya and wanted to write something where he actually gets a little love, so if you came for Kishigo feel free to flame.  
Enjoy!  
-djinni**

* * *

Ichigo skipped down the path in the park to her and Aoyama Masaya's typical rendezvous bench, clutching a small box to her heart and beaming. She faced the usual struggle of keeping her feline features in check while she spent time with her incredible boyfriend—not that she had to worry about freaking him out anymore, as he'd found out her furry little secret at Christmas and was completely accepting of it—but because it was pretty embarrassing to suddenly have cat ears and a tail when you're trying to be a normal girl on a date. Ichigo wanted to be normal, especially today. Why?

Quite simply, it was Valentine's Day. Right at the beginning of spring, when the earth is just beginning to awaken from its winter slumber, when—so they say—girls' hearts are in full bloom. The red-haired Mew knew this was superstition, but she wanted to make her first Valentine's Day with Aoyama-kun memorable.

Little did she know, that's especially what it would be.

* * *

Not too far away, a green-haired girl tripped down the steps of her family's home, slinging a green purse over her right shoulder. She too was smiling, a more subdued version of Ichigo's carefree grin, but for nearly the same reason. This was Midorikawa Lettuce, and today she was going to confess to her crush.

It was tough for her to admit these feelings, but she'd had a huge, embarrassing crush on her boss, Shirogane Ryou, for several months now. Even with her increased confidence thanks to the Mews, it had taken her this long to work up the courage to tell him her feelings. She was terrified but exhilarated, afraid of what he'd say but hoping Ryou would accept her confession.

Her hand clasped around Café Mew Mew's doorknob, and she hesitated for a long moment, taking a deep breath. _I hope everything goes alright. Oh, please, let him accept my feelings!_

Lettuce, one should never tempt fate—or the author—like that. They have a habit of ruining the best-laid plans.

* * *

Aoyama-kun was late. Ichigo had been sitting alone on the bench for five minutes at least, and that worried her. He was almost never late, and when he was, it was only by a minute or two. Never five. Ichigo stood carefully, looking around to try and spot him. Still nothing. Her heart was going to break any minute now, she thought. It would be horrible to have your boyfriend dump you on Valentine's Day. Abruptly, something rustled in the tree overhead.

"Hey, Koneko-chan!" Ichigo looked up into a pair of familiar golden eyes.

"Kisshu! What are you doing here?!" she yelped, ears and tail popping out reflexively.

"Don't play dumb, kitten. I know what this holiday means to humans—" The alien dropped out of the tree, landing lightly a few feet away from her. "And I'm here for that box."

"No! This is for Aoyama-kun!"

"Oh, come on. Would it kill you to share the love a little?" His eyelids lowered to half-mast, masking those sultry eyes. "I might not bother you for the rest of the week…"

"Go _away_."

Kisshu glowered and lunged for her, knocking Ichigo flat on her back. The redhead somehow kept ahold of the box of homemade chocolate and clutched it to her chest. She stared up into his face, terrified of the anger and desperate longing she saw there.

"Then I guess I'll just have to take it," he whispered, his face centimeters from her own.

* * *

Lettuce pushed the door open, blue eyes darting as she looked for Ryou and didn't find him in the main room of the café. Even though he'd given the Mews Valentine's Day off, she knew he would probably be in the lab in the basement. Science never slept or took a day off, and neither did Shirogane Ryou. He would be there.

The soles of her shoes tapped lightly on the stairs as she bounded down, taking them two at a time in her eagerness. She stopped at the lab door for a quick breather, then pushed it open.

"Shirogane-san—" Lettuce froze, eyes widening in horror.

There, in the middle of the lab, was Ryou. And Mint was hugging him, raven head pressed against his chest and eyes closed in happiness. A clear recycled plastic bag of chocolate sat on a table nearby. It was clear what was going on. As she watched, Mint opened her eyes, saw Lettuce, and pulled away from Ryou.

"Lettuce…" she said. "It isn't what it looks like!"

"No, it's fine," the porpoise Mew said, shaking her head and looking down to hide the tears welling up in her eyes. "I…I wish you two the best of luck. I hope you're happy together." With that, she turned and fled the room.

"Lettuce! Wait!"

That was Ryou, yelling after her. Lettuce blocked out his words, running as fast as she could out of the café. Her face burned with shame. Of course Ryou—Shirogane-san—would be interested in Mint, would rather date her than Lettuce. She was pretty, smart, talented, worldly, and Ryou's societal equal, while Lettuce was smart but not pretty, an ordinary middle-class Japanese middle-school girl. Why on earth had she thought she would have a chance with him anyway? She wouldn't go back to the café for a long while.

And, Lettuce realized, she couldn't go back home, either. She'd told her parents she would be out all day, and if she came home crying her mother would worry and ask her what was wrong, prying into something Lettuce didn't want to talk about. There was, however, one place she _could _go. The library. It was her safe place, her hideaway. Surrounded by a fortress of words, nothing could hurt her…well, except that one time Pai raided the library, but that was a one-time thing.

She flashed the librarian her card on the way in before ducking between the stacks. Her gaze skimmed spines, her feet automatically orienting her towards the fiction section. Lettuce knew exactly what she needed: a good story, one that would pull her far away from her current reality and engulf her in a strange new world. Her fingers brushed dust jackets, eyes darting as she spotted a cover that looked interesting. Her hand closed on it, and she left the aisle without looking—and crashed right into someone. Books flew everywhere.

"I'm so sorry!" Lettuce gasped. The words came out a few tears away from a sob. "I'm sorry. Let me help you…" The other person's hand landed on hers as they grabbed for the same book at the same time. Lettuce looked up, and her gaze met a pair of frighteningly familiar violet eyes.

"P-Pai-san?"

* * *

Ichigo did the first thing she could think of: she rammed her knee straight into Kisshu's groin. Sadly, it had the opposite of her intended effect, causing the alien to collapse on top of her, groaning in pain. She twisted, fighting to dislodge him, and did so with surprisingly little difficulty. He was oddly light for all his added height and excessive ears. Unexpectedly, he floated up and away from her, grinning through his grimace of pain.

It was then Ichigo noticed the little box in his hand.

"Give that back!"

"No way, Koneko-chan! If I can't have your heart just yet, I'll take your chocolate as a consolation prize." He was grinning again, playful and flirtatious. "I bet it's just as sweet as you." And with that, the air rippled around him and he was gone. Ichigo stared at the place where he'd been for a long moment and burst into tears.

"Ichigo!"

Masaya. Just when she needed him. Ichigo hurled herself into her boyfriend's arms, sobbing. Her head rested comfortably in the crook between his neck and shoulder, and she felt his arms go around her waist. And the world was coming back to right—he'd arrived, and she didn't have to worry anymore. He was he rock her world was beginning to build itself around, and she had nothing to fear in the safety of his embrace.

"Aoyama-kun," she whimpered.

"What happened?" he asked. She could hear the gentle concern in his voice. "Are you alright, Ichigo?"

The Mew took a deep breath and tilted her head up to look at him. "Kisshu stole the chocolate I stayed up half the night making for you. I'm sorry…"

"It's okay," he replied, pulling her closer. "Just being here with you is all that matters. I don't need any chocolate to know how you feel."

"Oh, Aoyama-kun…"

"Masaya. Just Masaya. _That_ would be the best Valentine's Day gift you could give me."

"Masaya…I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

Lettuce wasn't quite sure how bumping into Pai in the library—something that ordinarily would have had her calling the rest of the Mews for help and led to the probable destruction of her sanctuary—had turned into browsing the shelves with Pai, and eventually sitting at a corner table reading with Pai, but somehow she had ended up doing exactly that. They had sat down nearly half an hour ago, and she kept sneaking peeks at him through her bangs.

He looked incredibly tranquil bowed over his book, eyes partially closed and lips moving as he mouthed the words on the page. She was more than a little surprised by how peaceful he seemed. Abruptly, his vibrant eyes flicked up from the page, meeting hers directly. She flushed.

"Why are you not with that human you adore so much?" he asked, baritone voice mellow. "Humans in your culture typically express their affection for one another on this date, correct?" Lettuce went even redder, eyes tearing back up.

"He…he's interested in someone else. I d-d-didn't want to ruin their day…" She trailed off, putting her book aside and burying her face in her hands. Pai's expression softened from its usual blankness to something gentler, almost sympathetic. However, when she looked up that sympathy was beginning to shift towards 'perplexed'.

"Who else would he be interested in?"

"Minto-san…the blue Mew," she explained.

"Hm," Pai replied. Lettuce didn't quite understand the glimmer in his eyes until he spoke again. "She is less interesting than you."

Lettuce went scarlet. "T-thank you, Pai-san…um…would you like the chocolate I made?"

Scientific curiosity overwhelmed his emotions. "I read a little about this 'chocolate' during the research phase of our study of Earth, but have never tasted it myself."

In reply, Lettuce pulled the chocolate out of her shoulder bag.

* * *

The sun was just setting on the happy couple sprawled under the cherry tree in the park, lighting the two up with a warm glow that failed to match the warmth of the affection between them. Masaya leaned against the tree, and Ichigo's back rested against his chest. His breath stirred her hair, and she felt her ears edging toward 'cat'. She didn't care.

Aside from the Kisshu incident that morning, the day had been absolutely perfect. Ichigo and Masaya had gone for lunch, then spent the rest of the day wandering around poking their noses into any shop that looked interesting, stopping for ice-cream, and eventually making their way back to the park.

"Ne, Ichigo…remember the first time I saw you as a Mew? We were right under this tree."

Ichigo nodded, smiling. "I remember…I was so scared you'd recognize me and not want to date an alien-fighting weirdo."

"It's hard to imagine _not_ being with you. You light up my world like no other girl possibly could."

"You're the axis my world spins on."

"The sun in my sky."

"The moon to my tides."

"The center of my entire universe," Masaya said, kissing Ichigo on the cheek.

"I wish today didn't have to end," Ichigo said. Masaya checked his watch.

"It's almost 17:00. I should probably take you home before your dad comes out looking for us."

Ichigo giggled. "He'll probably pull his katana out from under the bed and threaten you with it if you ever keep me out late again."

Masaya stood carefully, pulling Ichigo up with him. She stumbled slightly, on purpose, and fell against him. His arms dropped around her naturally, the two fitting together like an old vinyl record and the needle on the player, filling in all the gaps and making music just by touching.

Not so far away, a second pair occupied half a bench. The pile of books they'd checked out on Lettuce's library card occupied the other half. They sat close together, arms, hips, and legs touching. Had she wanted to, Lettuce could have leaned her head on Pai's shoulder, but she assumed he might consider that a step too far.

They had ended up sharing her chocolate, with Pai eating the greater part of it on Lettuce's insistence. She knew what that meant, and she knew he knew as well. His pale cheeks had flushed ever so slightly, the only betrayal of his emotions. He ended up convincing her to check them both out a huge stack of books once the library's closing time forced them out, and they had visited several places in search of a good spot to read. Pai carried them, a surprising display of chivalry from someone who fought girls just as fiercely as he would boys. But rather than reading when they settled on the park bench, they sat in companionable silence. Eventually, however, Lettuce broke it.

"I…probably ought to be heading home now," she said quietly. "It's getting late, and my parents will worry. But…"

"You do not want to leave quite yet, do you," Pai said.

Lettuce nodded. "I like spending time with you, but the next time we meet we'll be enemies again."

"Not always." When Lettuce looked at him in surprise, Pai clarified his statement. "I will eventually need to return the books, and when I do I will need to meet you to return them. And perhaps to borrow more…" he trailed off. Lettuce beamed.

"Pai-san, that's really clever!"

The slightest hint of a smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

"I will see you again soon, Mew Lettuce," he said. As he stood, his arm briefly brushed her shoulders in almost a hug—which she turned into a real one.

"See you soon, Pai-san," she replied, smiling. He nodded, briefly returning the embrace, before picking up his portion of the stack of borrowed books and teleporting.

Lettuce picked up her own books. _As long as he wants to read human books,_ she thought, _I can see Pai-san without having to fight him._ She smiled at the encroaching darkness, her heart lighter than it had ever been before.


End file.
